DESK REVIEW – UKRAINE
March 2015
Summary
This desk review is a compilation of existing secondary data, using the Minimum Standards for Child Protection as an analysis framework. All data points are citations which have been compared and interpreted, but not triangulated and verified.
The desk review includes data from before and during the emergency:
Part 1 gives some background information on the country, the child protection and the education system. This introductory part will remain relevant over the next years to come.
Part 2 gives an overview on the current emergency and highlights elements with regards to affected children.
Part 3 outlines how the emergency affects child protection and education needs, the number of children affected, the response to date as well as coverage and gaps. As the crisis is evolving very fast, this part will have to be updated monthly to remain relevant.
Table of content
1. Background 4
Country Profile 4
Child Protection 5
Legal Framework 6
Social and cultural norms related to child wellbeing and development 7
Existing capacities 7
Child Protection Needs 7
Dangers and Injuries 7
Physical violence and other harmful practices 7
Sexual Violence 8
Psychosocial distress and mental disorders 8
Children associated with armed forces and groups 8
Child Labor 8
Unaccompanied and separated children 9
Justice for children 9
Education System and Needs 9
National Laws and Policies 9
Access and availability 9
2. Emergency Profile 10
Main drivers of the crisis 10
Geographical extent of affected areas 10
Number of people affected 11
Main characteristics of affected population 12
Coordination Mechanisms 12
Existing capacities 12
Affected Children 13
Access to services and goods 13
Excluded groups 13
3. Child Protection needs as exacerbated by the crisis 13
Dangers and Injuries 14
Overview/Issue 14
Number of children affected 14
Capacities 14
Response to date 14
Gaps 14
Physical violence and other harmful practices 14
Overview/Issue 14
Number of children affected 15
Capacities 15
Response to date 15
Coverage and gaps 15
Sexual Violence 15
Overview/Issue 15
Number of children affected 15
Capacities 15
Response to date 15
Gaps 16
Psychosocial distress and mental disorders 16
Overview/Issue 16
Number of children affected 16
Capacities 16
Response to date 17
Coverage and gaps 17
Children associated with armed forces and groups 18
Overview/Issue 18
Number of children affected 18
Capacities 18
Response to date 18
Coverage and gaps 18
Child Labor 18
Overview/Issue 18
Number of children affected 18
Capacities 18
Response to date 18
Coverage and gaps 18
Unaccompanied and separated children 19
Overview/Issue 19
Number of children affected 19
Capacities 19
Response to date 19
Gaps 20
Justice for children 20
Overview/Issue 20
Number of children affected 20
Capacities 20
Response to date 20
Coverage and gaps 20
4. Education needs as exacerbated by the crisis 20
Access to education 20
Overview/Issue 20
Number of children affected 21
Capacities 21
Response to date 21
Gaps 21
Availability of education 22
Overview/Issue 22
Number of children affected 22
Capacities 22
Response to date 22
Gaps 23
Annex I: Contacts 23
Annex II: Abbreviations 24
Annex III: Timeline 25
1. Background
Since Ukraine achieved independence in 1991, the country’s economy began to increase and there were improvements for children. The infant mortality rate has been cut by half since 1991. The rate of HIV transmission from mother to child was decreased from 27.8% in 2001 to 6.8% in 2009. In 2011 the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights office was established. But the transition to a free market has also resulted in an increase in unemployment and social inequality, factors that severely affect children - especially since the disintegration of the state social protection system. The gap between rich and poor is widening and the unemployment rate is considerable (8.9%), especially among youth (17.8%) and in rural areas.[1] The situation has become difficult for single parent households and two-parent families with more than one child.[2]
Since the eruption of hostilities in April 2014, insecurity and displacement have increased across eastern Ukraine . Ongoing ceasefire violations – heavy shelling and armed conflict – in Donbas region have displaced to date more than 1 million people within Ukraine and abroad. Those remaining in conflict-affected areas of Donbas region, particularly in densely populated urban areas, face imminent security threats due to military activities by all parties to the conflict. Children continue to bear the brunt of this conflict, with schooling disrupted and access to basic services limited.[3]
Country Profile
Country Profile StatisticsPopulation
(UNICEF, 2012) / 45,529,900 / Population under 18 (UNICEF, 2013) / 7,865,080
Population under 5 (UNICEF, 2013) / 2,532,458
GDP per capita (current $)
(World Bank, 2010-2014) / $3,900 / HDI Index & Ranking / 0.734 / 83 of 187
GNI per capita (current $)
(HDI, 2013) / $3,960 / Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) (HSM, 2014) / 21.7%
Gini Index
(HDI, 2013) / 25.6
Fertility rate (child per woman) (UNICEF, 2012) / 1.5 / Life expectancy (World Bank, 2012) / 70.9
Maternal mortality rate (UNICEF, 2012) / 32 deaths per 100,000 live births / Literacy rates - 15 years+
(UNICEF, 2012) / 99.7%
99.8% boys / 99.7% girls
Children born to mothers under 18 (UNICEF, 2013) / 4% / Net Primary school enrollment
(UNICEF, 2008-2012) / 91.6% boys / 92.7% girls
Under 5 mortality rate
(per 1,000 live births)
(UNICEF, 2013) / 10 / Gross primary school enrollment
(UNICEF, 2008-2012) / 99.3% boys / 100.4% girls
Infant mortality rate
(per 1,000 live births)
(UNICEF, 2013) / 9 / Primary completion rate
(UNICEF, 2008-2012) / 98.2% boys / 100%
girls
HIV/AIDS prevalence
(UNICEF, 2012) / 0.9 / Pupil-teacher ratio, primary / 16
Improved water source
(% of population with access) (UNICEF, 2012) / 98% / Children aged 6-11 out of school
(UNICEF, 2009-2013) / 2%
Improved sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2012) / 94% / Gross pre-primary school enrollment (UNICEF, 2008-2012) / 100.2% boys / 97.5%
girls
INFORM vulnerability value / rank / 4.86 / 37 / Gross secondary school enrollment
(UNICEF, 2008-2012) / 84.5% boys / 84.7%
girls
· Ukraine is a Republic and Petro Poroshenko was elected president in June 2014.
· Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991. It adopted a constitution in 1996, which was amended in 2004 and 2010.
· Ukraine consists of 27 regions which are 24 oblasts (provinces) and one autonomous republic, Crimea. The cities Kiev, the capital, and Sevastopol, have a special legal status. The 24 oblasts and Crimea are subdivided into 490 raions (districts) and city municipalities of regional significance, or second-level administrative units.
· The main minority groups include Russians (17.3%), Belarusians (0.6%), Moldovans (0.5%), Crimean Tatars (0.5%) and Bulgarians (0.4%). Ukraine also has smaller populations of Poles, Jews, Romanians, Armenians, and Hungarians.[4]
[5]
Child Protection
Child Protection StatisticsLegal Provisions / M / F / Source / Child Protection Indicator / M / F
Definition of child (age) / 18 / Birth registration rates / 100%
Minimum age for light work / 14 / Labor Code / Child labor rates / 3% / 2%
Minimum age for work / 16
(with parental consent) / Labor Code / Child marriage (under 18) / 9%
Age of criminal responsibility / 16 / Criminal Code / Children in detention (comparative rates of detained children per 100,000; 2012) / 17.4
Minimum age of marriage / 18 / 17 / Family Code / Children in institutional care (UNICEF, 2012) / 94,000
Age of sexual consent / 16 / Criminal Code / Children living or working on the streets / 40,000 - 300,000 (est.)
Children with disabilities / 167,000 / UNDP (2013) / Children (0-17) orphaned / 80,000 – 100,000 (est.)
Legal Framework
International Conventions[6]International Convention / Year of adherence / International Convention / Year of adherence
Convention on the Rights of the Child / 1991 / ILO Minimum Age Convention / 1979
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts / 2005 / Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children / 2011
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography / 2003 / Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor / 2000
The Agreement on Cooperation of the CIS Member-States on issues pertaining to repatriation of minors to their state of permanent residence / 2005 / The Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction / 2006
The European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights / 2006 / The European Convention on the Legal Status of Children born out of Wedlock / 2009
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol to the Convention / 2009
National Laws and Policies
Law/Policy / Year / Law/Policy / Year
Law on Child Protection / 2001 / Law on Charity and Charitable organizations to support charitable
assistance to children / 1997
Civil Code and Family Code / 2004 / Law on Social Services / 2003
Law on Provision of Organizational and Legal Conditions for Social Protection of Orphans and Children without Parental Care
and on the Main Principles of Social Protection of Homeless Persons and Street Children / 2005 / Law on Ensuring the Legal and Organizational Basis for Social Protection of Orphaned Children and Children without Parental Care Social
Law On the National Program “National Action Plan for Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child” for the period until 2016 / 2009 / Procedure of Identification of Families (Persons) on Difficult Life Circumstances, Provision of Social Services to Them, Social Accompaniments of Such Families (Persons)
Law of Ukraine on out-of-school children / 2000 / Law on State Bodies and Services for Children and Special Institutions for Children
Law on State Assistance to Families with Children / 2000 / Law on the Foundations of Social Protection of the Homeless People and Street Children
Services Reform Strategy and Prevention of Social Orphanhood / 2012 / Law on the Prevention of Family Violence / 2001
Law on the Protection of Childhood / 2001 / Law on Custodial Arrest
Law on Social Work with Families, Children and Youth / 2001 / Orders on coordination of the Centers of Social Services for Families, Children and Youth with other public agencies
Procedure on Coordination among Social Accompaniment State Bodies / Model regulations for institutions (shelters, psychosocial rehab. Centers, etc.) and state bodies – like Children Services
Regulation on the Center of Social Services for Families, Children, and Youth / State Targeted Social Program of Reforming the System of Child Care Institutions
· The lack of an effective policy framework had traditionally been a significant bottleneck in the realization of children’s rights. In 2013, significant improvements have been recorded: three Presidential orders were issued for implementation by the Government on Development of Children and Support to Families, Measures to Ensure Observance of Rights and Interests of Children, and on a National Strategy on Education Development.[7]
· Regarding child labor in commercial sexual exploitation, there are gaps remain in some areas of laws as well as policy and program implementation. The Criminal Code does not prohibit the possession of child pornography and lacks clarity regarding the age of consent for sexual relationships.
· The National Action Plan to Implement the CRC and the National Program for Combating Human Trafficking remained unfunded in 2013.[8]
Social and cultural norms related to child wellbeing and development
94,000 children live in institutions. Key causes of child abandonment include family poverty and childbearing by underage mothers. Children are often removed from families through legal action as a result of family breakdown or other reasons. According to official statistics, the absolute number of children living in some type of institutions has been decreasing, from 104,000 (2008) to 94,000 in 2012. Ukraine has clearly transformed the state policy to move away from institutional care to family based care for children in vulnerable/difficult circumstances, with understanding that long-term placement in an institution is harmful for the physical and psychological development of a child. This has included greater investment into social services and the further development of the foster family system and family-type children’s homes. The government has confirmed its commitment to gradually close institutions all over Ukraine through an array of initiatives and partnerships.[9]
Existing capacities
With regards to social services, despite the absence of concrete numbers, the introduction of an additional 12,000 social workers in 2012 resulted in increased numbers of families being registered with social services, an important step in enhancing service provision for vulnerable families. Cash benefits allocated to low-income families increased by 7.4% from the end of 2012 to the end of 2013.[10]
Child Protection Needs
Dangers and Injuries
Landmines: Ukraine ratified the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction in 2005, but reportedly the country remains in violation of the treaty after having failed to complete the destruction of their stockpiles by the four-year deadline (1 June 2010). An estimated 5,767,600 antipersonnel mines remained to be destroyed.[11]
Physical violence and other harmful practices
Domestic violence poses a serious problem for hundreds of thousands of children, women and the elderly. According to official statistics, the number of domestic violence cases registered is increasing by 10% annually and has reached more than 160,000 in 2013.[12] Thousands of children run away from domestic violence.
According to UNICEF Global Databases (2014, MICS and DHS surveys), the percentage of boys and girls aged 2 - 14 years old who experience any violent discipline (psychological aggression, physical punishment) are 68% and 55% respectively.[13]
Sexual Violence
At the center of the silence surrounding sexual violations appear to be the deeply entrenched cultural stigma and general victim-blaming that exist around rape and sexual violence. Women and children do not come forward to report violence or seek assistance from NGOs and humanitarian aid organizations, thereby reinforcing the near-total absence of attention to this problem. Sexual violence is often seen as the fault of the victim, partly because there is not much of an open public debate on the issue.[14]